Picture frame



F LONG PICTURE FRAME May 10, 1932.

Filed March 15, 1931 2 Sheets-Sheet 1' INVENTOR.

7"e//x [any ATTORNEY.

May 10, 1932.

F. LONG 1,857,966

PICTURE FRAME Filed March 15, 1931 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 ORNE Y.

Patented May 10, 1932 FELIX LONG, or NEwoIrY, New Yon-x if 'rro'ruim mama Application filed ma a 1a, 1931. Seriallto. 522390.

This invention relates to the framing and hanging of pictures. Heretofore it has been the universal practice in the framing of'pic- V tures toemploy a rabbeted frame in which the '5 glass, picture and a suitable backing aresuccessively placed and the backing is thereupon secured in position bygdriving small brads or nails into the frame, so as to overlie the backing and preclude-its inadvertent displacel ment. To preclude the entrance of dust about the edges of the backing, it has been the practice to paste paper over the back of the frame: Considerable skill is required in the framing of pictures in this manner and if it isdesired to change the picture in the frame at any time,'tools are required and skill is needed to make the change. V

The primary object of the present inven tionis to provide a greatly simplified mode of procedure and one which will permit of an expeditious substitution of a picture-in a frame withoutrequiring tools, and without necessitating any skill.

A further object of the invention is to so sides in the novel interaction betweenthe framing and suspending means whereby the framing means serves as a firm anchorage for the suspension means and carries theweight of the frame and glass in a manner to preclude inadvertent breakage orrel'ease of the frame'when suspended as stated.

The present invention'is particularly characterized by the fact that instead Of maintaining the" glass; picture and backing in place by brads or nails as heretofore, these parts are held in position by retaining strips which are-in t'urn held against inadvertent constitute the picture framing means thatit displacement in a positionto hold the parts in" place by means of retainers which are mounted permanently 'upon the frame and engage with the retaining strips in such manner a's'to'hold them firmly'in position.

The invention maypartake of various practical 'fornis,-but in one of its commercial embodiments,' it comprises a frame at the four corners of which the retainers are positioned.

These retainers in this embodiment of the invention constitute pockets which serve not only to reinforce the frame at its corners, but. also provide for the introductioninto said pockets of the ends of the retaining. strips, so that after the glass, picture and backing; have been positioned in the frame, the retaining strips may be brought into position with their opposite endsin the pockets as stated for thepurpose of; maintaining the integrity of the assemblyand'preclude inadvertent disengagement of any of the parts from the frame.

The suspension means in the preferred practicalform of the invention is mounted on and secured to the retainers and may be thus firmly and-securely anchored to the frame as will hereinafter be more fully described. Features of the invention, other than those advertedto, will be apparent from the hereinafter detaileddescription and claims whenj read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

Theaccompanying drawings illustratedifferent practical embodiments of the inven-- tion but the constructions therein shown are to be understood as: illustrative, only, and not as defining the limits of the invention.

Figure 1 is a back view ofa' picture frame madein accordance with the present invention.

Figure Figure 1. l 7

Figure 3 is a-perspective view of one corner of the frame showing one of the retainers in phantom. I V Figure 4 shows the retainer removed from the frame. T

Figure 5 is aperspective view of a terminal member forming'part of the picture suspending means. a =1 is a section on the line 2-2 of glass 3, picture 4 and backing 5 are adapted" to be superimposed, as shown in Figure 2, in the usual manner.

In the construction as illustrated iii-Figs. 1-5, inclusive, there is attached in .the rabbets at each of the four corners of the'frame an angular corner piece 6. Each of these corner pieces is inthe form of an angle, across the top of which is a web 7 the free edge of which is provided with turned back or hook tongues 8 and 9 as clearly shown in Figure 4. The angular portions of the corner pieces 6 extend beyond the web 7 in right angular relation to one another to form extensions 10 and these extensions are perforated at 11, so that when the corner pieces are positioned in the corner of the rabbet, nails or screws, may be passed through the perforations 11 into the frame to permanently mount the corner pieces on the frame. As shown in Fig. 3, these cornerpieces preferably extend to-the base ofthe rabbet 2, so that whenthe glass is positioned in the frame, .the corner pieces will overlap the edges'of the glass and thus bear upon and be supported by the cor v ner pieces, when the frame is suspended as It will be a noted.

hereinafter described. 7 moreover that the corner pieces wlll serve as a reinforce at the corners of the frame to maintain the frame square and at the same time preclude joints at the. corners of the frame from opening after long periods of,

use.: a

The corner pieces 6 are secured in the rabbet as described after the glass has been put into the frame, because it willbe practicallyimpossible to set the glass afterthese corner pieces are in place, but when the parts are assembled as stated, it will be noted that the said corner piecesform with the glass pock ets at all four corners of the frame.- The picture and the backing may be readily in-.

troduced into these; pockets or removed therefrom by slightly bending the picture and backing, which are allowed to flatten out again after being positioned in the frame.-

The backing will of course be positioned some little distance from the webs of the corner pieces and the space thus provided is availed of for the introduction of retaining strips, the purpose of which is to hold the backing and picture. firmly against the glass. In the carrying out of this function, the corner pieces operate as retainers. ;I

The retainingstrips are indicated in the drawings by the reference numerals 12, 13

and 14. There are four of these strips and they may be conveniently made from wood, metal, heavy cardboard or any other suitable material having suflicient rigidity so as not to materially bend longitudinally.

The strip 13 is of a length to fit across the top of the frame with its ends abuttin the shoulders of the rabbet at thesides of the frame. This strip is the first to be inserted beneath the retainers 6 at the top of the frame. The strips 12 are next brought into position as indicated by the arrow 12a and they are of such length that when their upper ends abut the strip 13 beneath the upper retainer, their lower ends will abut the shoulderv of the rabbet at the bottom ofthc frame beneath the lower retainers. Lastly.

the strip 14 is brought into position between the lower ends of "the strips 12 and beneath the corresponding retainers and serves as;a

key to hold allof the strips in place. Inv practice, the strips should be cut to such size. or fitted thatthey will not inadvertently work loose. Small prongs or spurs or tenons may be prot idedat the ends of the;

strips to dig or fit into the frameor into one another to more positively secure them in position, but ingpractice' this is unnecessary. The thickness of the strips is such that when forcedinto position as shown, they will press the backing firmly against the pic ture and thus hold it in contact with the glass throughout.

It will of course bev understood that with,

the arrangement described, the picture and backingmay be readily placed in the frame and the retaining strips thereupon intro-- duced by wholly inexperienced persons without the use of any tools and in a simple and expeditious manner and alater substitution of pictures inthe frame can be accomplished with equal ease and celerity.

As I have hereinbefore noted, the strips are adapted to fittightly within the frame and will thus tend to place some little stress upon the retalners at the corners of the frame, but.

the mounting of the retainers in the corners of the frame thoroughly reinforce the frame and the actual stresses are transmitted from the retainers directly to the sides of the frame and therefore will not have any tend-v encyto open up thecorners. These stresses are, moreover, exerted in an outward direction which, as will hereinafter be fully explained, iscontra or opposite to the stresses imposedupon the retainers bythe suspen-v sion means.

It will be understoodthat the invention,

thus far described may be employed with any suitable suspension means,but the structure lends itself to a novel and highly efficient form of suspension means which will now be described. 4

As herei'nbefore stated, the web 7 of each of the corner pieces 6 is provided with hook so l flanges 8 and-9. These hook flanges relate to directly thereto. In accordance with the pre-- ferred form of. this invention, in contradis tinction, the picture'wire is secured to thecorner pieces as shownbest in Figure 1] "A picture wire 16 of suitablelength is provided at both of its ends with terminal members of any suitable type, e. g., such-as shown in Figure 5. Each of these terminal "members is in the form of a flat strip 17 having along one of its edges turned back or hook flanges 17, 18, 19' and 20. "One end ofthe wire is led in the trough beneath'these flangesi as shown at 21. It is then carried along the trough to the right in Fig.5 and over the-end of the flange 20, thence along the front of the flange as indicated at 22, thence behind the flanges 19, .18 and'17 to the opposite endof the member. It is then bent about the opposite end of said member and returnedgover its outer face after which'it'is passed back of the flange 18 and broughto'ut between the flanges 18 and 19. The wirei's thus turned back and forth upon itself over and under-the flanges as stated, so as to firmly anchor each end of the wire to the corresponding termi-l nal member. To attach the wire-to the frame, the terminal members at the opposite ends of the wire 16are positioned behind the hook. flanges 8 and!) of the upper corner :pieces with the wire extendingjout through the space between these flanges. This constitutes a firm anchorage for the-opposite ends of the wire. The wire is then led downwardly along the sides of the frame and behind the:- hook flange 9' at each lowercorner, thence carried along beyond the flange 9 a-nd over the flange 8 to the opposite end of said flange It is then looped behind the'flange 8 and brought outat the same edge of the flange 9" 3 as it enters, but for the purpose of a clear showing in the drawings, it is'illustrated as coming out between the flanges 8 and 9.

The adjustors 23 are in the form of slides i which preferably embody two converging passages. That portion of the wire which extends between the corner pieces extendsthrough one passage and that portion of the wire which extends from the lower corner;

pieces upwardly to the adjusting inembei extends through the other passage. The upwardly converging form of the passages will,

I have found, slightly distort the wire by changing its direction in" such manner that when the slides are manually moved up and 69" down, they will retain the position in which they are left and will not inadvertently change position. It will thus appeanthat those portion'sof the wire which extend be tween the upper" and lower corner-'- pieces form, guides for the vertical adjustment of the slides 23 and-serve in effect as a harnessfromiwhich'theframe is supported on the' remainmg 1 portion of'the wire. From-the slides 23, thew ire extends upwardly and is looped over the picture hook or other suitable support. By moving theslidesup or down,

the frame may be caused tohang at such angle as may be desired;

- In thefforegoingdescription, I havereferred to the zcorner pieces "or retainers as mounted 1n a rabbet and they are thus shownin Fig. 3; It is withinthe purview of this invention, however, to mount the corner pieces or retainers exteriorly of the frame, so as to overlap the outeredges at the corners. Suclr'an--arrangement is shown in Fig. 6,

wherein the corner pieces are designated at. Go and secured in place by nails or screws passed through perforations 11a into the tion as to extend" over the rabbets to engage with and hold in place the retaining strlps 12 and 14, It thus appears that the retainers constitute inefl'ect devices mounted upon the frame and extending over the strips'12 and 14s-to hold them in position and from what has been said it would appear that these'extensions may engage with the strips either at their endsas shown in Figs. 1 and 6, or inter-- mediate theends of these strips as shown in FigL'T.

e In the in'the appen'de dclaims, I have specifically referred to the framing of pictures which, in accordance with the usual practice, involves the use of glass, the picture to be framed and a suitable backing. I wish it to be under stood,-'however, that in showing and dBSCIlb-n ing this invention, I have done so for the purpose of illustration,-only, and that, in practice, I may frame documents, tiles, mirrors and various other articles, papers, cardboards or fabrics without departing from thisinvention. Certain of such articles will requirea-glass and a suitablebacking. With others, for example tiles, neither glass nor a backing will be necessary. facts; I wish itclearly understood that in the appended claims wherein glass, a picture and a backing are referred to, that these elementsare to be considered as equivalents of a mirror, a tile or other appropriate matter which" is'to be framed through the employment of arecessed framewith retaining .strips as' hereinbefore descr bed as forming thefundamental feature Of'tllls invention.-

=In th'e' accompanying drawings, I have foregoing detailed description and In view of these shownretainers of various forms, but it will be understood that these may vary in shape without departing from. this invention.

Having thus fully described .theinvention,

' what I claim as new and desire tosecure by Letters Patent is:

1.- In an assembly of the character described, a rectangular picture frame rabbeted' at its back to provide a recess adapted to I receive a glass, a picture and a backing, re-

tainers mounted on the frame and extending across the rabhet at the corners of the frame to form. pockets and four strips respectively positioned in the rabbets at the 1 four sides of the frame with the ends of the at its-back to provide a recess adapted to receive a glass, a picture and a backing, retainersmounted on the frame and extending across the rabbet at the corners of the frame to form pockets and'four strips respectively positioned in the rabbets at the four sides of theframe with the ends of the several strips extending into the corner pockets to hold the stripsin position and thus maintain the glass, picture andbacking against inad- 3 vertent displacement, each of said retainers having an angular flange positioned in the angle of the rabbetand secured to adjacent sides of the frame to mount the retainers'on the frame and reinforce the corresponding cornerithereof.

.3. In .an assembly of thecharacter de-.

I scribetha rectangular picture frame rabbeted at its back to provide a recess adapted to receive a glass, 21 picture and a backing. re-

3 tainers mounted on the frame and extending across the rabbet at the corners of the frame to formpoclrets and four strips respectively positioned in the rabbets at the four sides-of the frame with the ends-of the several strips extending into the corner pockets to hold the strips in position and thus maintain the glass, picture and backing against inadvertent dis placement, each of said retainers having an angular flange positioned in the angle of the I rabbet and secured to adjacent sides of the frame to mount the retainers on the frame and reinforce the corresponding corner thereof. said flanges extending to the base of the rabbeti to embrace the corresponding icorners of the backing, picture and glass.

4. In an assembly of the character described, a rectangular picture frame rabbeted I at its back to provide a recess adapted to re ceive a glass, a picture and a backing, retainers mounted on the frame and extending across the rahbet at the corners of the frame to form pockets and four, strips respectively positioned in the rabbets at the four sides of the frame with the ends of the several strips extending into the corner pockets to hold the strips in position and thus. maintain the glass, picture and backing against inadvertent displacement, each of said retainers having flanges secured to two adjacent sides of the frame to reinforce the frame at its corners.

5. In an assembly of the character de scribed, a frame provided at the back thereof with a recess adapted to receive a glass, picture and a suitable backing, retainers mounted on the frame and extending over said recess in spaced relation to thebacking, and retaining strips positioned in the recess between the backing and retainers to maintain the glass, picture and backing in position against inadvertent displacement. from the frame, said retainers comprising plates se-- cared to the back of the frame in spaced rellr tion to the corners thereof.

6. In an assembly of the character described, a rectangular frame provided with a rabbct at the back of its inner edge, corner angles secured to the four corners of the frame to reinforce.thesame,eachcornerangle. having a. web overlying the rabbet at the corresponding corner of the frame and each web being provided with-a hooked flange, said Webs forn'i'ing'pocketsbetween the base of the rabbet and the webs at the. several corners of the frame,retaining strips positioned inthe rabbet at the four sides of the frame with the opposite ends: of the several strips extending into said pockets, a suspension member provided at its opposite-ends with. terminal members, said terminal members be ing engaged with the hook flanges at theupper corners of the frame and from thence extendeddownwardly along the sides of theframe and loop about the hook flanges at the bottom of the frame and thence extended upwardly in the'form of ,a suspension loop, and slides embracing both of said downwardly and upwardly extending portions of the suspension member at'the opposite sides of they frame and vertically adjustable to regulate the angle at. which the frame will hang.

7. In a picture frame having rabbets. at the back to receivea glass, a picture and a backing, a plurality of'relatively rigid strips engaging the backing adjacent to its edges; and a plurality of retaining members mounted on the back of-the frame overlapping the rabbets and frictionally engaging the strips to hold the parts assembled and so arranged as to permit quick removal of the strips.

8 An assembly of the character (19'! scribed comprising a rectangular frame havmg rabbets at. the back to receive matter to be displayed and a backing; a plurality of flatretaining strips on the backing overlying the rabbets and having their outer faces substantially flush with the back of the frame; and clamping members on the back of the frame extending transversely of the rabbets frictionally engaging the strips to hold the parts assembled in the frame.

9. An assembly of the character described comprising a rectangular frame having rabbets at the back to receive matter to be displayed and a backing; a plurality of fiat retaining strips on the edges of the backing and abutting the outer edges of the rabbets; spaced retaining members secured to the back of the frame and projecting transversely of and frictionally engagingthe strips to hold them assembled in the frame and clamp the parts in the rabbets.

In testimony whereof I have signed the foregoing specification. FELIX LONG. 

